Idioms
Emotions
The full list of 20 words in this set. Open any word for its pronunciation, collocations, a band 8 sentence and the mistakes Vietnamese learners make.
Learn this set with flashcards20 words
- 1
be on cloud nineidiom/bi ɒn ˈklaʊd naɪn/
extremely happy
“She was on cloud nine when she heard she'd won the scholarship.”
- 2
down in the dumpsidiom/daʊn ɪn ðə dʌmps/
feeling sad or depressed
“He's been down in the dumps since his dog died.”
- 3
- 4
keep a stiff upper lipidiom/kiːp ə stɪf ˈʌpə lɪp/
to remain calm and not show emotion in a difficult situation
“Despite the bad news, he kept a stiff upper lip during the ceremony.”
- 5
wear one's heart on one's sleeveidiom
to show one's feelings openly
“You can always tell how she feels — she wears her heart on her sleeve.”
- 6
let off steamidiom/lɛt ɒf stiːm/
to release strong emotions or excess energy
“He goes for a run to let off steam after a stressful day.”
- 7
be over the moonidiom/bi ˌəʊvə ðə ˈmuːn/
to be extremely pleased or happy
“She was over the moon when she heard about the scholarship.”
- 8
- 9
butterflies in one's stomachidiom
to feel nervous or anxious, usually before an important event
“I always get butterflies in my stomach before giving a presentation.”
- 10
lose one's temperidiom/luːz wʌnz ˈtɛmpə/
to become angry and lose control of your emotions
“She rarely loses her temper, but the constant noise made her snap.”
- 11
get something off one's chestidiom
to express or talk about something that has been worrying you so you feel relieved
“I finally told my friend about the mistake to get it off my chest.”
- 12
see redidiom/siː red/
to suddenly become very angry
“He saw red when he found out someone had damaged his car.”
- 13
have mixed feelingsidiom/hæv mɪkst ˈfiːlɪŋz/
to feel both positive and negative emotions about something at the same time
“I have mixed feelings about moving to another city — excited but also sad.”
- 14
at one's wit's endidiom/æt wʌnz wɪts ˈɛnd/
completely puzzled or distressed and not knowing what to do
“N/A”
- 15
- 16
keep one's coolidiom/kiːp wʌnz kuːl/
to stay calm and not show your emotions when you are angry or upset
“The teacher had to keep her cool despite the noisy classroom.”
- 17
hit the roofidiom/hɪt ðə ruːf/
to become extremely angry
“When she found out the company had sold her idea without credit, she hit the roof.”
- 18
- 19
get cold feetidiom/ˈɡet kəʊld fiːt/
to become nervous or afraid to do something you had planned to do
“I was ready to agree to the exchange programme, but I got cold feet when I thought about leaving my family.”
- 20
bottle up one's feelingsidiom/ˈbɒtəl ʌp wʌnz ˈfiːlɪŋz/
to refuse to express your emotions; to keep feelings inside
“He bottled up his feelings for years and then had a breakdown.”